Once Bitten - C.M. Steele Page 0,12

didn’t know what the hell he expected. I loved Devin with everything in me and here I was dying inside, knowing that he’d betrayed me.

“Leave me alone. I’m fine,” I bit out, itching to spew venom in his direction. It wasn’t his fault that Devin couldn’t keep it in his pants and enjoyed stringing me along. I guess that twenty thousand meant shit to him.

“You’re not fine. This isn’t going to be some Twilight shit. I’m not going to sit around while you break down.” My mom and I made him watch the movies with us and he always hated that part.

Dads.

Still, I wasn’t up for an argument right now.

“Then maybe it’s time I left.” I had to go to work soon anyway, but I meant moving out. I had an interview for a job as an administrative assistant tomorrow.

As soon I started changing for work, my phone rang. I let it go to voicemail because I knew it was Mia. She called again, but I didn’t feel like talking so I sent it to voicemail again. Lately she’d spam my phone when she wasn’t getting dicked by Ian.

A text popped up: Girl, answer your phone. It’s important.

I called her back in a frenzy because I worried something had happened to her. “What’s up?”

“Ian told me that Devin was hurt while tagging a shark. He got out of the hospital and they thought he was fine, but he developed a fever.”

“Well…that’s terrible. Why would I care?” I hissed.

“What? Just three day ago you were complaining how much you missed him.” I didn’t tell her about the photo because it hurt too much, and I knew that Mia and Ian would fight about it. It wasn’t their problem that his best friend couldn’t be trusted.

“That’s before I realized that he’s a cheating bastard. He was in Miami with another woman. I have a picture taken on Friday of him and that slut walking together.”

“Are you serious? I don’t believe that bullshit for a minute because he wasn’t in Miami. He was in Bimini on Friday. They were flying him back to the States, from what Ian heard.”

“Is he hurt terribly?” My heart and mind were in a tug of war at the moment. The thought of him dying would destroy me almost as much as his betrayal.

“He’s improved, but they don’t want to risk him getting worse,” she answered.

Good, so he would be just fine. My anger and pain came flooding right back to me. “Miami, Bimini, it doesn’t matter. He’s a piece of shit. I’ve got to go.” I hung up and rushed to the bathroom, heaving for the tenth time.

Pulling myself together, I got ready for work at the mall. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay to go to work?”

“Yes, Mom. You don’t have to worry.”

“I have a question. Did you two use protection?” I gasp. No, we didn’t. “I’m assuming by that gasp and the constant vomiting, he managed to knock you up.”

“It’s okay. I’m just upset. I’m not pregnant.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. Either way, I have to get going.” Two hours later, I walked into the local CVS and picked up a pregnancy test during my break. I turned and saw someone that I was sure I saw before. Then again, it was reasonable to see the same people in the same town from time to time. Walking into the ladies’ room at my job, which thankfully was empty, I took the test. I could have waited until I got home, but I didn’t want my family to see it.

My phone rang again, and I saw it was Mia. I powered off my phone because I hated how much I cared that he was genuinely hurt. I had to go back to work. This should have been a happy moment as I cheered for a positive result, eager to tell Devin. Instead, I was in a bathroom stall, hoping for a negative.

Checking the results, I shook my head. “Thatc bastard,” I choked out. Wrapping the test up with the box and bag, I shoved it down in the garbage can. There was no way I wanted someone to find it.

I worked hard, thinking of my next steps. There was so much to do and even though I hated Devin, he needed to know about the baby. I felt his ring around my neck where I’d put it to keep it safe until I could give it back, and then an idea struck me. Maybe I